Dave Bakke: Citizenship a point of pride for immigrants

Had the process gone just a little more quickly, Badri would be voting for the next American president on Tuesday. That would have been a thrill for someone who spent more than 60 years in Iran.

Dave Bakke

Had the process gone just a little more quickly, Badri would be voting for the next American president on Tuesday. That would have been a thrill for someone who spent more than 60 years in Iran.

On Friday, Badri was one of 93 people to become an American citizen at the Findley Federal Building in Springfield. She was hoping that her husband, Mokhtar, who is 86, would be taking the oath of citizenship along with her. But he will have to wait.

Mokhtar and Badri would rather not have their last name mentioned or their pictures in the newspaper because they say this is not about them. They are just two people who have settled down in a new country.

“We are not politics people,” says Badri. But nothing between the two countries is simple. Everyone can become a “politics people.”

Badri was a high school teacher in Iran. Mokhtar was a chemical engineer. They have been married for 45 years. Their son and daughter came from Iran to live in the United States, and that was the start of Mokhtar and Badri’s journey from their home in Tehran to American citizenship.

After moving to America six years ago, Mokhtar and Badri briefly lived in Chicago and in California before coming to Springfield to be with their daughter (whose name they also would rather not have printed ... see above), who lives here.

Mokhtar knew English quite well when he was a younger man but had forgotten much of it over the years. The couple took an English as a Second Language course at Lincoln Land Community College, along with a citizenship preparation course at LLCC taught by Brad Woodruff.

“It’s something they chose to do,” says Woodruff, “as a kind of statement of appreciation for our country, for being allowed to emigrate. I think this is a matter of pride and appreciation for the opportunities that our country has provided for them, their children and their grandchildren.

“It’s particularly touching for Mokhtar because of his age. He’s been in my citizenship class twice. The second time was a brush-up in advance of his interview.”

Since Iran and the United States do not have formal diplomatic relations, the norm is for Iranian citizens to gain entrance to the U.S. through a third country. But Mokhtar and Badri had their green cards already, so it was not as difficult for them to come here six years ago, despite more stringent security guidelines following 9/11.

Deciding to become American citizens, they say, was easy for them, even though they still have strong ties to Iran, including family members who live there.

“We think about our children,” says Badri. “Family and children are the most important things.”

They applied for citizenship together, but because of Mokhtar’s age (he also has Parkinson’s disease), things were more complicated for him. Last week, just a couple of days before Badri’s naturalization ceremony, the couple traveled to Chicago for Mokhtar’s citizenship exam.

Their hope was that he would pass and could stand beside his wife as they both became American citizens. He passed but was told there would be a delay.

“It could be a month or two months,” Mokhtar says, “but it could be a year. I am waiting. I’m comfortable enough. It’s OK.”

There is only a small Iranian community in Springfield. Most of the Americans Badri and Mokhtar meet have little knowledge of Iran other than what they see on TV. In Iran, citizens have little knowledge of the United States beyond what the government tells them. Neither gets a complete picture of the other country.

On Tuesday, Mokhtar and Badri will have a front-row seat to watch the American elections, their elections, unfold. Badri became a citizen too late to register to vote. But if she could vote for president, which one would she have chosen — McCain or Obama?

I didn’t ask. It’s none of my business. Welcome to America.

Everybody has a story. The problem is that some of them are boring. If yours is not, contact Dave Bakke at dave.bakke@sj-r.com.

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